One Year Later – Kyoto
Zarveth the Corruptor wandered through the streets of Kyoto's Youkai district.
He had taken on the form of a Youkai.
Eight months ago, he had killed a member of the Orochi Clan.
His name had been Sayo, a young warrior of the clan.
After killing him, Zarveth had devoured his memories along with his face.
For eight months now, he had lived as Sayo without flaw.
For eight months, he had been slowly spreading distrust within the Orochi Clan... against the Kitsune Clan.
The first snow of the year lay over the city.
The streets of Kyoto's magical district, where no humans could live, glowed in the warm light of old lanterns.
Magic filled the air.
The different Youkai clans lived here in peace and harmony.
Zarveth watched the city.
This sense of unity...
I must destroy it.
For my master.
Even if the leader of the Youkai is only a Throne Rank...
If she fully unleashes her bloodline, her power rises to the highest reaches of Crown Rank.
That strength could become a problem in the war...
Especially if she sides with the angels or the gods of Japan.
Tamamo had to die. And when she did, the Youkai would split on their own.
His gaze turned cold.
Fortunately, Lady Tamamo is playing right into my hands with her two daughters.
As Zarveth, in Sayo's form, slowly walked through the streets, he noticed a group he had only seen a few times over the past eight months.
Lady Tamamo.
Walking beside her was her younger daughter, Kaguya.
Several guards accompanied them.
They were exploring a small shopping street.
"Mommy, do you see this?"
Kaguya tugged at her mother's kimono and pointed to several beautiful wooden toys.
Tamamo smiled faintly.
"Yes."
She gently placed her hand on Kaguya's head.
"Can we take one of them with us... for big sister Airi? Please?"
Kaguya looked up at her mother.
Then she used her ultimate attack.
The puppy-dog eyes.
Tamamo froze.
She placed a hand on her chest.
"And Mommy..."
Kaguya pressed her advantage.
"Can you finally lift Airi's house arrest?"
"She's been in the temple for two years..."
"She wants to come along too, just once."
"Please... please..."
Tears gathered in her eyes.
She lightly bit her lower lip.
Tamamo turned her head to the side.
A deadly attack.
"Okay, okay... stop, Kaguya."
She sighed.
"I'll think about it."
Kaguya stopped crying immediately.
She bowed politely to her mother.
"Thank you, Mother, for this favor."
Tamamo suddenly stopped.
She blinked.
"...Did she just trick me?"
"She's only six..."
A few meters away, Zarveth watched everything from the shadows.
His gaze rested on Tamamo.
Then on Kaguya.
And finally in the direction of the temple.
A quiet smile appeared on his face.
Yes...
This will be interesting.
Wonderful...
Lady Tamamo and her guards are not at the temple.
Now I finally have the chance to enter the heart of the Youkai's power.
Zarveth moved soundlessly through the streets of Kyoto.
And perhaps I'll finally see their firstborn daughter.
No one outside the temple had ever seen her.
So the rumors were true. The firstborn was being hidden away.
Twenty Minutes Later
Zarveth reached the outer areas of the temple.
The Kitsune's protective barriers were strong.
But for a being like him... not an insurmountable obstacle.
He merged with the shadows.
Slowly, he penetrated the magical barriers.
Layer by layer.
Until he finally reached the inner area of the temple.
The garden.
And then he saw her.
A small nine-tailed Kitsune with red hair stood in the middle of the garden.
In her hands, she held two swords.
With every swing of the blades, small shockwaves of sword Qi formed.
Zarveth's eyes narrowed slightly.
Interesting...
In one corner of the garden sat an old eight-tailed Kitsune.
She was calmly drinking tea and watching the training.
Akio.
"Ahh... the tea tastes especially good today."
Her old hands held the cup steadily.
But time had left its marks.
I can feel it...
I won't see many more winters.
With luck, I'll still live to see Airi and Kaguya get married.
It will be a beautiful day...
I only hope they aren't as proud as their mother and grandmother.
Insisting they must have a stronger man.
Akio smiled softly.
"Phew..."
"I think they'll turn out exactly like that."
"It's in the blood of nine tails."
She set down her cup.
"Airi."
"Your training time is almost over."
"You need to master the tea ceremony even in your sleep soon."
"Today I'm finally going to pound it into that thick skull of yours."
"I'll make a proper lady out of you."
Airi stopped training.
In the next moment, she was standing right in front of Akio.
"I don't want to become a lady."
She crossed her arms.
"I want to become the greatest warrior in the universe."
"I don't need to be a lady."
Akio laughed quietly.
"Sometimes I really think you'd be a tomboy."
She placed her hand on Airi's head and gently stroked her hair.
"If male Kitsune existed..."
"...you probably would have become one."
Hidden in the shadows, Zarveth watched everything.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
The firstborn...
Interesting.
If Tamamo dies...
these two girls will become very valuable pieces in the game.
His gaze remained on Airi.
Six years old...
and already Light Rank.
Barely, but still Light Rank.
And her sister is already Ember Rank.
This bloodline is dangerous.
His smile widened.
Perhaps I should make sure...
that after Tamamo's death...
they have no one left to protect them.
The Youkai, and especially the Kitsune Clan, use their strongest warriors as nannies.
Even Akio...
She is at the end of her life.
After the last war against the Indian gods, her power is no longer what it once was.
But even now, she was still at Crown Rank.
"Akio?"
Airi's voice broke the silence.
"Is something wrong?"
"Did I prepare the tea correctly? With all the proper steps?"
Akio shook her head slightly.
Her ears twitched restlessly, as if searching for something.
Her snow-white hair fell over her back.
Her kimono gave her the aura of a loving grandmother.
Yet despite her age, she still looked barely over thirty.
Only her hair and her aura revealed her true age.
The fur of her tails no longer shone as brightly as Tamamo's... or Airi's and Kaguya's.
Akio gently placed her hand on Airi's head.
Slowly, she began to stroke the base of her fox ears.
Airi immediately started purring contentedly like a small cat.
Her eyes closed in delight.
"You did very well, little vixen."
"At last, something has gotten into that thick skull of yours."
Airi grinned broadly.
A laugh that could warm almost any heart.
But in Akio's mind, she was already somewhere else.
There is something there.
I need to find this rat...
And show it that no one gets to peek in here so casually.
"Airi."
"Can you continue your sword training for a little while longer?"
"I need to check something."
Before Airi could answer...
Akio's body dissolved into a thousand tiny sparks of light.
In the next instant, she was gone.
What...?
Where is that Kitsune!?
Zarveth could barely react.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Um... I got lost."
Slowly, he turned his head.
Damn... she noticed me.
This old Kitsune is more dangerous than I thought.
Akio stood directly behind him.
Her eyes looked deep into his.
She was searching for something.
For fear.
But she found none.
Strange...
Why is this snake not afraid of me...?
Akio lightly crossed her arms.
"Very well."
"I'll hand you over to the guards."
"Then your clan leader can explain to Lady Tamamo..."
"...why a member of the Orochi Clan is sneaking around in the heart of the Kitsune Temple."
In the background, Akio saw Airi continuing her training.
Her movements flowed like a dance, though the technique in her hands was no dance at all. It was Hoshiko no Ken – Sword of the Star Fox.
"Why are you really here, snake?"
Sayo swallowed.
"I... I..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"I was sent by the clan leader."
Akio's eyes narrowed.
"To do what?"
"To... gather information."
"About the future clan leader of the Kitsune."
Akio looked deep into his eyes.
But what she saw there, she did not like.
It was not a normal consciousness.
It was like an endless abyss.
"What else?"
Her claws dug deeper into his shoulder.
Sayo grimaced briefly.
"Nothing more... The clan leader only wanted to know whether it would be worth marrying into the Kitsune Clan."
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then Akio's teeth became visible.
Her eyes slowly turned a deep red.
A murderous aura began to pour out of her.
"What... did you just say... child?"
Her voice was suddenly ice-cold.
"Every Kitsune chooses her own partner."
"No other clan has any say in that."
Her aura grew stronger.
The ground beneath her feet began to crackle.
Without warning, she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him along.
"I think," she said quietly, "you are planning a power struggle."
"Almost like after Lady Tsukiko's death."
"In the last war against the Indian gods."
Her footsteps echoed through the corridor.
With every step, the stone tiles beneath her feet shattered.
"Fortunately, Tamamo was already close to Vessel Rank back then."
They reached the prison cells.
Akio opened a door made of black metal.
Then she hurled him inside.
With a loud bang, the door slammed shut.
The aura of the old Kitsune filled the entire room.
And for a brief moment, Zarveth wondered...
whether he might actually have made a mistake.
Behind the bars, Sayo began to laugh quietly.
A calm, cold laugh.
"Perfect..."
His eyes gleamed in the darkness.
"Perfect," he murmured. "Now suspicion will fall exactly where I want it."